One Direction Tell Me It's Love
by differenceinme
Summary: Bailey liked her home town. It was where she grew up and where all of her friends lived. She thought she would live there forever, until one day. Would moving to Holmes Chapel change her life for the better?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One.**

"Bailey, can you come down here please"

Bailey stopped typing and looked up from her computer. She sighed, she hated being interrupted when she had a lot of school work to do and only a short amount of time to do it. She stood up, pausing her music and made her way out of her bedroom. As she was walking down the stairs she sighed again, rubbing her forehead. She felt exhausted from the work she had been doing and just by thinking of what she still had to do. 'This had better be good' Bailey thought as she reached the last step and walked over to the living room.

She walked into the room, eyeing her mum suspiciously, trying to figure out if it was good or bad what she had to say. Her step dad was stood at the side of where her mum was sat. He looked pleased. Too pleased. Almost smug. Her little step brother, Nick, was sat down on the sofa. He was smiling and he looked excited. This wasn't strange to see with Nick. He was 5 years old and always happy. This was one of the things Bailey loved about him.

Bailey walked over to the cream sofa and sat down across from where her mum was sat.

"We have..something to tell you." Her mum started, now having Bailey's full attention.

"We wanted to wait until everything had been confirmed before we told you anything. But now we know for sure.."

Her mum stopped talking and searched Bailey for a reaction. The last thing she wanted was to upset her.

"It may seem a bit sudden to you, and we both understand that you'll be shocked..or maybe if you didn't want to-"

"We're moving house" Bailey's step dad said, cutting in on her mum.

Bailey's eyed moved from her mum and onto her step dad. She blinked, not looking away from his evil like features.

"Moving?" Bailey asked, a look of confusion on her face.

"Yep. All thanks to me actually! My boss called me into his office last week and he offered me a promotion. A company that we work for has opened up a new factory in Cheshire and they need someone with the experience and the skills and qualifications to help run it" Bailey stared blankly at her step dad, his sly grin going through her.

"So..because you get a promotion we all have to move?" Bailey asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well..yes. This will be good for us, a new home!"

Bailey scoffed, "Good for you, you mean"

Silence filled the air as Bailey sat back and folded her arms.

"It's a lovely little village, Holmes Chapel it's called." Her mum softly said, trying to lighten the mood. "We've seen pictures and it looks really friendly and welcoming."

Bailey looked over at her mum and couldn't help but feel bad. She was smiling, saying all these 'glorious' things about their new neighbourhood. Bailey couldn't help wonder if her mum actually wanted to go. She sounded excited, that much was obvious, but leaving behind her friends and her childhood memories was just something that Bailey couldn't quite believe she'd agree to. Not without being forced.

"Will there be a park there?" Nick asked, looking hopeful. Bailey looked over at him and smiled, of all the questions to ask.

"Of course there will!" Her mum said, smiling. "With swings and slides. And I bet there's even a round-a-bout!"

Bailey smiled again as Nick gasped and grinned with excitement.

"See, if he can get excited for moving then you can too" Bailey looked up at her step dad and slightly scowled. She hated him. She really didn't understand what her mum saw in him. Everything about him creeped her out.

"We understand that you might not think it's the right thing we're doing, but I know you're going to love it. You can make new friends and start a fresh" Her mum said, smiling again at Bailey.

Standing up from the sofa and saying she wanted to be alone for a while, Bailey left the room.

Closing her bedroom door behind her, she sighed and bit her lip. She walked over to her window and looked out on the younger kids playing. She thought back to the times when she would skip or play tig with her friends. Right at that moment those times felt so important and meant so much.

She didn't know what Holmes Chapel was like but she already knew that she hated it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two.

The next few days went past in a blur for Bailey. It had all been arranged so quickly. Her school had been informed about the move, removal vans had been hired and most things in the house had been packed up into cardboard boxes.

Bailey still didn't like the idea of moving and leaving behind all the good times. But for some reason her mum wouldn't change her mind. Her excitement had taken over, forever talking about the different things Holmes Chapel has and how nice the house looks. Bailey couldn't help but notice how much her mum was repeating herself. She would constantly say how lovely the neighbourhood is, which Bailey had heard so many times already. It was almost as if her mum was convincing herself rather than Bailey.

Bailey sat on her bedroom floor, a bin bag to her right side and a cardboard box to her left. Infront of her was a big pile of things that she had brought out from under her bed, things that she had put under there months ago when she had tidied her room. She was sorting through the pile, things that she wanted went in the box and anything she didn't want would go in the bin bag.

Reaching forward, she picked up a small book that was peeping out from under a jumper. She smiled at the front cover, it was one of her favourite books. She loved to read, it was something her friends teased her for. She wouldn't go out every night, instead she would stay in and read or study. It was just who she was. She opened the book to where her bookmark had been placed. She smiled down at the photograph she used to keep her page. It was taken on her last birthday. She was smiling with her friends.

Her own smile faded and tears formed in the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall. She quickly wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

"How far have we got with the packing?"

Bailey looked up to see her mum entering her bedroom, a soft smile on her face.

"I'm getting there, I guess. I never realised I had this much stuff" Bailey said, looking around her almost empty bedroom.

Her mum lightly laughed and walked over to Bailey, kneeling down next to the pile.

Bailey looked closely at her mum. Her eyes looked red and puffy.

"Mum, have you been crying?"

Her mum swallowed, "A little. I was just..thinking of old times. Got a little teary, that's all"

Bailey wasn't all convinced as her mum plastered a smile on her pale face.

"So..there isn't anything else that you're upset about?"

Her mum looked away from Bailey and swallowed again. A single tear slowly strolled down her cheek.

Bailey quickly reached forward and placed her hand on her mum's, gently squeezing it.

"Mum? What's wrong? You know you can tell me"

Her mum looked back to Bailey and opened her mouth, attempting to speak but no words escaped her mouth.

"Is this about us moving? You know that we don't have to, if you want to stay then we will."

Her mum's features softened, she looked relieved. Again, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Here you are! I've been looking all over for you, the vans are outside"

Bailey looked up to her doorway to see her step dad stood with his hands in his pockets.

She looked back at her mum who was wiping away her tears and smiling once again.

"Right. We better start loading them then."

Bailey watched as her mum stood up and walked over to her doorway. She turned around slightly and looked back at Bailey, a lost look in her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three.

Putting her headphones into her ears, Bailey sat back in her seat, moving to get comfy. They had been travelling in the car for just over 2 hours and already Bailey had become bored. She had mixed feelings inside her stomach. She felt sad that she was leaving their old house, leaving all of the memories and people behind that she had grown with.

She was also worried about her mum. The conversation that they had in Bailey's bedroom played over and over in her mind. She couldn't help but wonder if her mum was about to tell her how she truly felt, until they was interrupted. Bailey had since then tried to talk to her mum, like they did before, but all she got out of her was something about the new house and how lovely it was. Lovely. A word she had used so much that it had started to sound strange.

In the bottom of her heart, Bailey knew that it wasn't just herself that wasn't happy with the move.

Bailey sighed and put her head back on the seat. A gentle tug on her sleeve made her turn her head to the side to see a heart filled smile on her little brother's face. The smile slowly faded and his skin became paler. She realised he must have felt sick. He wasn't always that good at travelling long distances for such a long time.

Pausing her music she reached out and loosely put her arm around him, holding him close to her. She ruffled his blonde locks and softly kissed the top of his head. She smiled down at him, her heart filling up as he returned the smile. She hated seeing Nick upset. Those smiles of his was enough to light up any dark room.

Turning her head to look out of the window, she felt her eyes becoming heavy. She hadn't realised how tired she had actually felt. She closed her eyes slightly and leaned back in her seat again.

"Bailey, wake up sweetheart"

Bailey slowly opened her eyes, feeling a sudden pain throb in her neck. She lifted up her hand to massage where it hurt, slightly closing her eyes again.

Opening them again she looked around at her surroundings. She was still in the car. Her mum was at the side of her, stood at the car door. She began looking around for her brother and step dad.

Her mum spoke as if she was reading her mind.

"Rich took Nick to have a look around. And to see the park"

Bailey smiled, imagining how eager he must have been.

She lifted her head to look out through the window.

"Are we here?" She asked, looking over at her mum.

Her mum nodded with a smile. She walked back, away from the car and turned around, her back now to Bailey.

"This is home now"

Bailey swallowed and moved closer to the door. Swinging her legs over the frame of the car, she stepped out, breathing in the cold air.

Shutting the door behind her, she moved to stand next to her mum, following her gaze. Her eyes were transfixed on the house in front of them.

It was an average sized building. It had a door, many windows, a chimney and a roof. It was everything you could want for a house, but it wasn't home. Not yet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four**

Bailey's eyes moved away from the house and onto her mum.

She watched as her hand fished into her coat pocket and pulled out a key.

"How about we go and see what the inside looks like" her mum said, smiling.

Bailey nodded but stood motionless, watching her mum make her way towards the house.

Looking around again, Bailey took in her new neighbourhood.

It was nice, she thought. It looked friendly and it was pretty quiet.

Something tug at her heart.

She was determined not to cry but still felt tears forming in her eyes.

This was her life now. A new life for her and she just had to get used to it.

Her eyes travelled back to the house.

She turned her head towards the house next door. _'I hope the neighbours are nice!'_ she thought, sighing.

She slowly walked away in the direction of her mum.

Closing the door behind her, Bailey walked into the empty hallway.

She slowly moved forward, taking in the new house.

She walked into the biggest of the rooms downstairs, which she assumed to be the living room.

She folded her arms against her chest and looked around the empty room.

There wasn't much to look at really, just plain walls and floorboards.

Turning on her heel, Bailey left the room.

She walked over to the staircase and made her way up each step.

Reaching the last step, Bailey walked over to the first door she saw.

It was open slightly, revealing a little bit of what was inside.

She pushed open the door and walked inside.

The room was a big size. It had a bay window with a cushion lining.

Bailey smiled, she had wanted one of those ever since she was little.

It seemed silly, always wanting a window, but the idea of sitting there with a book or just to look out on the world interested her.

She moved closer to the window and sat down with her back to the glass. She looked around the room.

One of the walls had another window, showing the house next door.

"I see you've chosen your room"

Bailey turned her head towards the door to see her mum stood smiling.

"Yeah. I like this one. Probably because of this window more than anything"

Her mum lightly laughed and walked forward, now stood opposite Bailey.

"It's a nice house" Bailey said, realising after she said it that she meant it. Granted, it wasn't their old house but it was still a nice house.

Her mum blinked and nodded slowly.

Bailey stood up from the window and walked towards her mum. She reached out and pulled her into a hug.

Bailey smiled as she felt her mum's head nestle into her shoulder.

"Anyone home?" Rich sung through the house.

Bailey rolled her eyes at how annoying he was.

Her mum pulled away from the hug and smiled at Bailey.

Bailey stood and watched as her mum turned and left the room.

She sighed and turned slightly, now facing the window on the wall with her head down.

She slowly lifted her head, her eyes locked with two green ones staring back at her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five

She blinked and swallowed. Her body froze on the spot, too afraid to move away from his gaze.

She knew she should look away, it was wrong to stare but there was something about those eyes.

Plus he wasn't exactly moving away either.

A crash coming from behind her brought her out of her trance.

Quickly spinning around she saw Nick running into her new bedroom.

He had a big smile on his face and an ice cream in his left hand.

She couldn't help but smile at him and how cute he looked.

"We went to the park and got ice cream!"

"I can see that" Bailey said, laughing and shaking her head as he licked the bit of ice cream that had dripped down the cone.

"Mum said I can go choose my room" he beamed, "Will you help me?"

Bailey smiled and nodded, "Of course I will"

She grabbed his free hand and looked back at the window.

She couldn't help but feel disappointed to not see him looking back, like he was before.

She needed to see him again.

Walking out of the room with Nick she closed the door behind them and walked down the landing.

By the end of the day, the once empty house had been transformed into their new home.

Furniture had been placed and rearranged to their liking, units had been put up, carpets had been put down and it had started to look like their own.

Bailey was in her new bedroom, spreading her duvet out onto her bed.

She had draped pink fairy lights all around the headboard and around two of walls.

She moved back from the bed and smiled, pleased with her work.

She walked over to a box that was on the floor.

Kneeling down beside it, she started to look in it, stopping as she found what she was searching for.

Standing up she smiled down at the framed photograph that was now in her hands.

She looked up and around the room, thinking where she could put it.

Her eyes fell into her desk that was set up in the corner of the room.

She smiled, making her way over to it.

She placed the frame down on the desk and looked down at the photo.

She smiled at her mates smiling back at her.

She stepped back from the desk.

Her mind began to think back to those eyes, that boy.

Without thinking, she slowly looked up at the window, her heart beating.

She could see him.

He was moving about with his head down as though he was looking for something.

She moved forward, now closer to the window.

Her heart began to beat faster, afraid of being caught but still wanting him to look up at her.

She watched as he sat down on his bed and rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand.

He sighed and stood up again, walking out of the room and out of sight of Bailey.

She slightly moved away, feeling disappointed again.

A gentle knock on her door made her turn her head.

Her mum walked into her room, a frantic look on her face.

"Would you mind going next door and ask if they have any candles? It's too late in the day to have anyone out to fix the lights"

Bailey's heart skipped a beat.

Her mum wanted her to go to the house next door.

The house where _he_ lived.

"Erm.."

"I mean I would go myself, but I'm still sorting the house out, you know"

Bailey nodded.

She was sure her heart would beat straight out of her chest.

"Of course I will"

She smiled at her mum and walked past her, out of her room.

She made her way out of the house, shutting the door behind her.

She took a deep breath and walked down the garden and onto next doors path.

_Stay calm_, she told herself, _he probably won't even be the one at the door._

She reached the door and slowly lifted up her hand.

Turning her hand into a fist shape, she knocked twice.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six**

She counted to ten in her head. The longer she waited for the door to open, the more she felt her heart beat quicken.

She bit her lip and wondered if she should knock again. A big part of her wanted to turn around and walk away. But she didn't move. Instead, she took a deep breath and again lifted up her hand, ready to knock.

Before she had chance to knock, the door swung open.

She quickly dropped her hand and put it in her pocket.

Stood at the door was the boy from the window.

"Hey" he said, a smile forming on his lips.

Bailey's breath caught up in her throat as she looked up at his face, staring closely at his features. He was good looking. Very good looking. He had brown, curly hair and a smile that made his eyes sparkle. Those eyes that Bailey had already fallen in love with.

"Did you..want something?" He raised his eyebrows playfully, still smiling.

His voice. Deep and slightly husky.

Bailey realised she was staring at him.

She cleared her throat and blinked. She hoped he couldn't see the colour of her cheeks.

"Um..yeah."

He nodded slightly, waiting for her to speak again. He still had that big smile on his face.

"Candles"

Bailey swallowed and looked down. She sighed as she heard him laughing. It was a light laugh, not insulting in any way, but still Bailey felt embarrassed.

She looked up to see him leaning against the door, grinning at her.

She swallowed again, "Do you have any candles..that we could borrow. Please?"

She mentally kicked herself for sounding like an idiot.

He smiled again, "Candles. I'm sure we have a few somewhere"

He stood up from the door and stepped back into the house.

"Come in, if you like?" he said, smiling as Bailey thought about it for a second then walked into the house.

He reached around her and shut the door.

"Won't be a sec!" he grinned at her again and walked out of the room.

Bailey looked around where she was stood. She was in their kitchen, which was obvious from being stood near a fridge, cooker and a sink. It was very tidy and clean, nothing was out of place.

Her eyes travelled out of the room and down the hall. She could see a small frame hanging on the wall. In the frame was a picture of a young boy, his smile wide.

She smiled herself, it was obviously the same boy, that smile could be recognised anywhere.

Minutes later, he walked back into the kitchen with a long red box in his hand.

"I knew we had some" He said, handing the box to Bailey.

She took the box from him and smiled, "Thank you"

He smiled in return and crossed his arms against his chest.

"So you're new here?" He asked, his eyes shining.

Bailey nodded, "Yep, moved here today actually"

She smiled to herself at how she was able to speak normal now.

"Well, it doesn't have much to offer but it's a nice place to live I guess"

She slowly nodded and looked away.

He saw a sad look in her eyes, his smile fading.

He extending his hand, causing her to look up.

"I'm Harry"

She softly smiled and took his hand in her own.

"Bailey"

He shook her hand and smiled that smile.

"Lovely name!"

She blushed a little, "Thank you"

Her hand was still in his. She looked up into his eyes, her heart skipping a beat as he stared back at her.

"I..I better go" Bailey said, looking away from his eyes, her eyes landing on their hands, still joined together.

She looked back up at him and smiled.

She stepped back, dropping his hand.

"Thanks again..for the candles" She said, waving the box.

He smiled, "No problem. If you need anything else just pop round"

She smiled and nodded, slowly turning towards the door.

She opened it, feeling the cold wind in the air.

She turned around and smiled again, then walked out of the house, closing the door behind her.

Her lips broke into a wide smile and she lightly laughed. She couldn't describe how happy she felt at that moment.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been a couple of weeks since Bailey and her family had moved and they had already pretty much settled in.

It had took a while, all of them having to get used to their new surroundings.

Nick instantly fell in love with the place. He would smile in awe at everything he looked at. Not one thing put him off living somewhere different, probably because he was easily pleased.

Rich had acted his usual smug self, Bailey had noticed. He felt it was necessary to remind them that it was because of him they had moved. He was always telling Bailey she should be grateful, if it wasn't for him 'proving he had the ability and intelligence to have been promoted' as he had put it, then they would never have moved. This made Bailey dislike him even more.

Bailey had kept an eye on her mum the most, still having her own private assumptions over how she truly felt. She would always have a smile on her face, which to most people would be completely normal and it would mean she was happy, but to Bailey, she saw it in a different way. The smile would never quite reach her ears and it never made her eyes sparkle, not like it usually would.

As for herself, Bailey was slowly getting over the fact that she wouldn't get to see her friends as much, if at all. She was also trying not to miss the things she once loved. Memories of her past would suddenly creep into her head some days, reminding her of what her life was once like. At those times, she would become mixed with anger and all emotions, she'd never understand why she had to leave them behind, she knew it wasn't fair. Other times she understood. As hard as it was, she tried to think less of her past and focus on her new life ahead. She knew she could, she just needed that routine back.

If she was being honest, she quite liked the village. It was quiet most of the time, the only noise they usually heard was the sound of traffic passing by outside their house. The people were very friendly too, they had given smiles and waves many mornings, welcoming them to their neighbourhood.

The neighbours were nice too. Bailey's heart would skip a beat whenever she thought of Harry. He was definitely nice. Bailey hadn't spoke to him since she had gone round, asking for candles, but she had seen him odd times through the window. But, he hadn't seen her.

It had became something she would find herself doing with even realising it.

But, whenever she would look for him at his window, she felt bad. She would shake her head slightly and look away. She knew it was wrong, almost as though she was stalking him. But she couldn't help it. Her mind would always go back to the moment they shared, staring at each other, none of them looking away once. His eyes pierced right through her, straight to her beating heart. Now whenever she would look to his window, she would want that moment to happen again, for him to look at her with those eyes. Those eyes she loved and had loved since she had first seen him.

Her mum would constantly tell her she would make new friends here, which she would just nod in response. A part of her was happy with that, new friends meant learning new things and sharing her life with another. But, another part of her, a big part, was sad. Her mind always thinking back to her old friends.

She knew she would start to appreciate her new life once she had felt a reason to be happy. And right now, she would just have to wait for that reason.


	8. Chapter 8

Bailey combed through her brown hair and loosely tied it up in a bobble, moving bits of hair out of her eyes. She moved over to her bed, her pink bunny slippers shuffled on her carpet.

She sat down on the bed, lifted up her legs and rested her back against the headboard. She looked at her alarm clock that sat on her bedside table. The time was 11:12 am.

She sat for a minute, wondering what she could do. There wasn't any school work she could do because..well because she didn't have a school now. She knew school had to be sorted, but right now she didn't want to think about it. Her main focus was the new house, her new life and how things would be different now.

She looked around her room in search of something to pass on the time. She hated Sundays, there was never anything to do.

She looked over at her bedside table and picked up her book. Opening to where she last read, she lifted her up knees, and layed the book in her lap.

Minutes had passed and she could start to feel her eyes drooping shut, the words on the page became blurry as she tried to focus on them. She opened her eyes suddenly and blinked a couple of times. She lifted up her hand to her face and rubbed at her eyes, blinking them open again.

She looked back at her book and tried to carry on reading. The words seemed to jumble around the page and a few letters joined together.

She sighed as she had read the same sentence for the third time. Not realising she had felt as tired as she did, she allowed her eyes to shut again, this time not bothering to open them.

She moved her head back, leaning it against the headboard. Her book was still open on her knees but was left untouched.

—

Harry slowly opened his eyes, adjusting them to the light of the room. He shut them again and sighed. Sinking his head into the softness of his pillow, his eyes travelled over to the clock on the wall. It was almost 11:30 am. He groaned and rubbed his right eye with the back of his hand.

He sat upright on his bed, his bare back exposed to the slight chill in his room. He pulled back his duvet and walked over to the window. Pulling open the curtains, he squinted at the sudden rush of sunlight that shone straight into his eyes.

He leant against the window pane and looked out. There wasn't much to look at, nothing that interested him.

He straightened up, about to move away from the window when something caught his eye. Someone.

A smile formed onto his lips at the sight of Bailey sleeping, her head leant to the side on her headboard. Bits of her hair had fallen carelessly over her face.

He smiled more as he noticed a book was resting on her, open but not being touched.

His gaze moved down to her feet. He grinned at her slippers, two bunnies smiled back at him, foolishly.

He bit his lip as a sudden feeling of guilt ran through his body. He shouldn't be looking at her, not like this.

He looked away from the window and stepped back, his heart screaming.

Lightly shaking his head, he walked out of his room.


	9. Chapter 9

"Bailey, wake up!"

Bailey slowly opened her eyes, blinking a couple of times as she did.

A sudden pain rushed all over her neck, a result from the sitting position she had fallen asleep in.

She looked around the room and slightly moved her head to the side. A smile crept onto her lips as she looked over at Nick who was stood at the side of her bed. He was wearing his blue coat which had been zipped right up to the top. He also had his black shoes on his feet, the laces carefully tied up. His right hand was clenched as though he was holding something, almost afraid to let go.

"What do you have there then?" Bailey asked. She looked away from Nick and down at the book, now closed, that was resting against her legs.

Picking up the book, Bailey swung her legs off her bed, reaching the carpet. She placed the book back down on her table and looked back up to Nick, waiting on his reply.

"Mummy gave me money for some sweets from the shop!" Nick exclaimed, a big smile beaming across his face.

Bailey laughed and shook her head. The things he got excited for, she thought.

"But I can't go on my own, will you come with me?" Nick said, still smiling.

Bailey smiled back at him and stood up from her bed.

"Of course I'll come with you" Bailey said moving towards Nick, "on the condition that I get some sweets too" She playfully stuck out her tongue and reached out her hand, gently ruffling his hair. He giggled and shook his head away.

Bailey grinned and moved her hand. She stepped out of her slippers and walked around the room in search for her shoes. Once she had found them she put them on. Grabbing her jacket and her phone she walked back towards Nick and reached out for his hand.

Nick smiled up at Bailey and lead the way out of Bailey's bedroom.

Bailey walked with her hand safely holding Nick's. The sun was shining in all directions and only a few clouds were in sight. Bailey loved sunny days. Everything seemed to be more happier when the sun was out.

Bailey put her free hand into her jacket pocket and took out her phone. She read the time to be 2:37pm.

"Bailey?"

"Yep?" She asked. She put her phone back into her pocket and turned her head to her side to see Nick looking down into his bag of sweets.

"Is mummy ok?" He lifted up his head and bit the side of his lip.

Bailey stopped walking and looked down at Nick. His face was showing signs of true concern, mixed with a scared expression. He looked as though at any minute he would start crying.

Bailey knelt down in front of Nick and placed a small, soft smile onto her face. She sighed and looked on in thought, thinking up something soothing for her reply. She hadn't realised that Nick had noticed how different their mum was acting as well. It proved to her that she wasn't imagining the change in her mum's behaviour.

She looked back up at Nick to see a single tear fall from his eye.

"Aw Nick don't cry. Mum is fine, she's just..a little tired out from the move" Bailey said, her heart beating under her jacket.

She wasn't exactly lying to Nick. Their mum was tired from all of the moving and the work that needed doing around the house. But, Bailey still thought there was more to it than just that.

Bailey lifted her hand up to Nick's face and gently wiped away the tear that had fallen.

"You have no reason to worry. I promise everything will be ok"

Bailed smiled as she watched Nick nod his head slowly.

He sniffed and lifted up his head, looking around where they was. His eyes stopped and a look of confusion appeared on his face.

"Bailey.."

Bailey noticed the confusion on his face, "Yeah?"

"Why is that boy with curly hair looking at you?"


	10. Chapter 10

"What?"

Bailey blinked at Nick and slowly turned her head, following his gaze.

Her eyes fell upon Harry. He was stood across the road from them talking on his phone, but looking over at Bailey. A small black and White dog was stood to his side on a lead.

Their eyes locked, neither of them moving. The person on the other end of the phone call spoke but received no reply from Harry. His whole focus was on Bailey.

Harry realised he was staring and he looked away. His heart was beating so fast under his purple jumper. Hearing the voice on the phone, and only just remembering there was someone there, he spoke in reply.

Bailey continue to watch him, mesmerised by him. A soft giggle sounded its way through her head, causing her to look away from Harry and now back at Nick. His face had broken out into a grin, all the confusion had been replaced with his cheeky smile.

"Is that your boyfriend?" he asked, grinning foolishly.

Bailey rolled her eyes playfully and looked back at his face.

"No Nick. He's just the boy who lives next door to us" She said, shrugging her shoulders.

Nick shook his head in an over the top way, still grinning.

"I think you like him!"

Bailey raised her eyebrows at Nick and stood up to her own level. She took his hand in hers again and started to walk.

Harry quickly ended the phone call as he saw Bailey stand up to walk away.

"Bailey! Wait"

Bailey stopped walking and turned to the side to see Harry rushing over the road, his dog having no choice but to follow.

He reached Bailey and Nick, stopping at their side.

"Hey" Bailey said, desperately wanting to act cool. Or normal at least.

"Hi"

Harry gave her one of his smiles, his dimples deeply creased into his cheeks.

Harry stood on the spot looking at Bailey, forgetting the reason he stopped her.

Nick looked at Bailey then at Harry. He shook his head and stepped forward.

"Want a sweet?"

Harry slowly tore his eyes away from Bailey and looked down at Nick who was holding out his open bag of sweets.

"Sure!" Harry smiled again and reached his hand into the white paper bag, bringing it back out with a blue sour fizz bottle gripped in between his finger and thumb.

Nick beamed a smile up at Harry as he put the sweet into his mouth.

"You know, these are my favourite sweets in all the world!" Harry exclaimed, a proud smile fixed onto his face.

Nick looked surprisingly shocked about this. "Mine too! Except..I'm not allowed to have them all the time. Bailey says too many is bad for me"

Harry lightly laughed and looked up at Bailey with a questioning look. She felt her cheeks burn as she rolled her eyes.

"You know they make you go hyper. Especially the sour ones! I'm just being a good sister"

Harry laughed again as Nick stared back at Bailey with no expression.

Bailey shook her head and looked at her watch for the time.

"Right we better get home"

Bailey smiled at Harry and stepped forward, holding Nick's hand as she did.

Realisation kicked in for Harry as he, once again, watched her walk away.

"Hey, Bailey.."

Bailey stopped and turned around again to face Harry with a smile.

"Um..well, I was just wondering if you wanted to go into town with me tomorrow? You know, to show you around. I mean, only if you want! I'd be happy too.." Harry stopped, knowing if he carried on speaking he would only embarrass himself further.

Bailey smiled as her heart pounded fast under her jacket. She wanted to scream 'yes' a thousand times for how excited and happy she was. But instead she smiled.

"Yeah that would be great. Thanks" Another smile.

Harry smiled back, "Great! Do you..wanna swap numbers? Then we can sort out a time"

"Sure!" Bailey said, reaching into her pocket for her phone.

Nick looked away slightly bored as they both typed their numbers into each others phones. He looked down at the dog that was stood waiting on the lead. Nick knelt down and smiled at the dog now in front of him. He lifted up his hand and began to playfully stroke its head.

"So. I'll speak to you later then?" Harry said, putting his phone back into his own pocket.

Bailey smiled and nodded.

Nick stood up from the dog and waited again for Bailey.

Bailey moved again and said a quick 'bye' to Harry.

Her heart continued to beat uncontrollably beneath her jacket as she walked away. The smile stayed on her lips as Nick looked up at her.

"I knew you liked him!" Nick boasted, a grin placed onto his face.


	11. Chapter 11

Bailey stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body and her wet hair hung around her shoulders. She shuddered at the difference in temperature from a hot bath to a cold room.

She walked in to her bedroom and closed her door behind her. Her eyes instantly shot to the window. She rushed across her room and shut her curtains, preventing anyone from seeing her just in her towel.

She breathed out in relief, dreading to think of the embarrassment she would have felt. Walking over to her desk she picked up her iPod and clicked Shuffle. She made her way to her docking station to connect the iPod and turned up the volume slightly and walked away.

She began to sing along to the music that was playing as she opened the double doors of her wardrobe. Her hands skimmed through her tops and eventually pulled out a red longline with a black pattern. She also chose out a pair of black leggings.

A single beep sounded over her music. Closing the wardrobe doors Bailey turned around, now facing her bed and looking at her phone.

She walked closer to her bed and sat down, picking up her phone as she did. A small message icon appeared at the top of the screen as Bailey typed in her password. There was a lot of things she liked to keep private from her family, her phone was one of them.

Once her phone was unlocked, she clicked onto the message icon. Her heart rushed with excitement as she looked at who it was from: 'Harry'. Her hands became shaky as she clicked again, now opening up the message.

_Hey, you ok? Just wanted to know if we're still on for town tomorrow? :)_

Bailey felt herself smiling, it was just a simple text, it wasn't anything special but still, she felt the butterflies in her stomach.

She read the text over and over until she knew every single world. She clicked Reply and typed out a message to send back.

_Hey :) I'm good thanks, you? Yeah of course, I'm actually excited to seeing what this place is really like!_

She stopped before sending. Her thumb hovered over the 'x' button and she bit her lip in thought. She didn't know why, but putting kisses at the end seemed like a big thing, especially when it's with a boy you hardly know.

_'I guess one won't hurt!'_

Her thumb pressed down on the button. She read through what she had typed, making sure it made sense. Pressing Send, she locked her phone and put it back on her bed.

Standing up, she walked back over to her chosen clothes and began to get dressed.

As soon as she was dressed, she walked over to her desk and picked up her comb. Another beep came from her phone as she began to comb through her hair.

Walking back to her bed she picked up her phone. Smiling again at seeing the text was from Harry.

_But you're more excited to spend time with me, right? :P I'm kiddin! It isn't much to look at but it's not so bad :) xx_

Bailey laughed. She quickly text back, wanting her cheeky side to match his.

_Now, are we talking about you or this town? :P_

She stopped again before sending. Her eyes moved back to the message Harry had sent. He had put 2 kisses at the end of the text.

Bailey shook her head and lightly laughed at how she was acting. It didn't mean anything really. She typed out 2 kisses in return and quickly sent the text.

She put her phone back down onto her bed, looking up as she heard a gentle knock at her door. She smiled sweetly at her mum who stood at her doorway.

Her mum walked towards Bailey and sat down on her bed.

Bailey looked towards her mum and puzzled at the slight smile formed on her lips and the glint in her eyes.

"...What?"

"Nick tells me you bumped into a boy?"

Bailey laughed again and shook her head, seeing a glint in her mum's tired eyes.

"Yes, it was the boy from next door actually"

"Oh. Well that's how it all starts. A love affair with the boy next door" her mum grinned, knowing she was teasing Bailey.

"Mum! He's a nice boy, but it's nothing like that"

Her mum crossed her arms against her chest and raised her eyebrows, making Bailey laugh again.

"So then, what's his name?"

Bailey looked at her mum for a while before answering. "Harry"

Her mum nodded as in approval, smiling. "So what exactly did you and Harry from next door talk about then?"

"He was just being friendly. He asked if I wanted to go to town with him tomorrow, so he can show me around. And we swapped numbers"

Her mum nodded again, "I was speaking to his mum while you was out, she's a lovely woman. She said something about a party they're having on Friday for her daughter's birthday and asked if we wanted to go"

"mhmm" Bailey nodded in reply to her mum but was focused on her phone as it beeped again.

Her mum laughed and shook her head. She stood up from her bed and walked over to the door. She grabbed hold of the door handle and looked back at Bailey. "I'll leave you to talk with your Harry"

Bailey looked up in time to see her mum wink and walk out of her bedroom.


	12. Chapter 12

A light laugh escaped Bailey's mouth as she watched her mum leave the room and close the door behind her. She looked back down at her phone and opened up the new text she had recieved from Harry.

_:O cheeky! I'll pretend you didn't say that :P if you must know I'm actually pretty popular around here! ;) xx_

Bailey felt her face break into a big smile, laughing again. She swung her legs up onto her bed and sat with her back resting against her pillows.

Pressing the reply button on her phone, Bailey carelessly sung along to the music that played around the walls of her bedroom, still feeling butterflies in her stomach.

_Hm, I can't think why, I think you're gonna have to share that with me :P xx_

After the message had sent Bailey locked her phone and put it on her bed. She stood up again and walked over to her desk, pulling out her chair she sat down and picked up a black ink pen that was resting on a notebook. She had thought about writing to some of her old friend's to tell them about the new house and how things had changed for her now.

She glanced to the side of the desk to where a frame of her and her friends was stood. She could feel a pain in her heart as she looked away, not wanting to feel upset she put the pen back down on the notebook.

She sat back in her chair and looked up at the window. Her heart began to beat fast again as she saw Harry in his bedroom, stood topless with a towel in one hand and his phone in the other hand. She watched as he typed then chucked his phone down onto his bed.

Hearing a beep from behind her, Bailey turned and looked over at her phone on her own bed. She smiled and stood up, making her way over to her bed and picked up her phone.

Harry walked over to his window and grabbed hold of the curtains. He was about to pull them across when he stopped as he saw Bailey with her phone in her hand. He smiled as he watched her read the text.

_I'm gonna have to share it with you later, I'm jumping in the shower :) I'll give you a clue though, it's to do with these handsome looks I was blessed with ;D ha! speak later, babe :) xxx_

Harry continued to watch as Bailey grinned at her phone, giggling lightly. He smiled himself and slowly closed the curtains and letting them join in the middle, the image of Bailey's smile still in his mind.

**the next day**

Bailey picked up her jacket and put both of her arms through the sleeves. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. Her outfit was as casual as she thought it needed to be, not wanting to look overdressed for just going into town. She had decided on loose fitting light blue jeans and a white long vest top with a denim jacket and brown ugg boots to finish.

Her eyes travelled up to her hair and she leant her head to the side, as if examining how she had it styled. She picked up her comb and gently started to comb through her brown hair, happy with how it looked.

She looked up at the red clock on her wall and read the time. She still had a few minutes before it was the time Harry had said to set off. She moved away from her mirror and over to her desk to where her iPod was connected to her docking station. She pressed play and slightly turned up the volume.

Looking up from her desk she glanced towards her window overlooking the house next door, Harry's house. She walked a little closer and smiled as she saw Harry in his room.

She watched as he picked up a bottle of aftershave and sprayed his body a couple of times. He walked over to the side of his bed and put on a pair of white trainers. Bailey smiled again as she could make out his lips moving slowly, obviously singing.

He took out his phone from his pocket and typed out a message. He pressed send then put his phone back. Bailey looked away from the window as she heard a beep coming from her desk. She walked back over to her desk and picked up her phone.

She smiled as she read the text was from Harry. Opening up the text she read:

_I'm ready now if you are, babe? :) xx_

She grinned again at reading the word 'babe'. She lightly laughed at how again she was acting, she typed out her reply and pressed send

_Yep, all ready :) see you soon xx_


	13. Chapter 13

Harry shut the front door behind him and walked up the drive. He said a quick 'hello' to two women who were stood at the house across from his. He turned left and walked over to the gate of next door's house. He reached out his hand, pulling down the handle and opening the gate. Moving forward, he started to walk over to the front door, his hands now stuffed nervously into the pockets of his jeans. His heart began to beat fast and he suddenly became hot under his light blue polo shirt.

As he reached the front door he removed his right hand from his pocket and lifted it up, before knocking and then putting it back into his pocket. He looked away from the door as he waited. His gaze fell upon the two women that still stood at the house opposite his own. He had known them for as long as he could remember, both of them living on the same street as him. He watched as they spoke to each other, no doubt sharing the latest gossip that they had heard.

Harry smiled to himself and looked back towards the door as he heard the sound of running down stairs. The door opened and Harry's smile grew as Nick stood in front of him, dressed in Thomas the tank engine pyjamas and a half eaten bag of wotsits tightly clenched into his hand.

"Hello!" Harry said, grinning down at the little boy, who's face broke into a welcoming smile

"Hi! You live next door, don't you?" Nick asked, his smile still shining.

"Yeah, that's right I do. I'm Harry"

Nick suddenly leant his head to the side and looked confused at Harry

"You're not lost, are you? You do know this isn't your house?"

Harry lightly laughed and was about to reply when a woman walked out of the kitchen and stood behind Nick.

"Nick sweetie, you know what I said about opening the door to people you don't know"

Nick turned his head around and looked confused at his mum

"But it's only Harry! He lives next door but he thinks this is his house"

Harry laughed again, his eyes sparkling with his grin.

"Why don't you finish your crisps and go and get dressed?"

Nick nodded at his mum and said bye to Harry, then ran back up the stairs to his room.

"Sorry about that, his mind works overtime sometimes. I'm Lorna, Bailey's mum. It's nice to meet you, Harry"

Harry smiled and took her extended hand in his and shook it lightly.

"It's nice to meet you, too. And welcome to the neighbourhood!"

Lorna laughed lightly and folded her arms against her chest. She studied Harry for a few seconds, a smile appearing on her face. She was glad Bailey had met someone so charming as Harry seemed to be.

"Thank you, from what I've seen already it's a lovely place" Lorna smiled and thought of Bailey again. "I'm sure Bailey will be down soon, would you like a drink?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer but stopped when his eyes travelled to the right, fixing onto the stairs as he saw Bailey walking down them. Her brown hair bounced with each step and her eyes sparkled with happiness, her face breaking into a smile as she saw Harry. Reaching the last step, she walked over to the front door to where Harry and her mum stood looking at her.

Harry quickly closed his mouth, realising how much of an idiot he must have looked with it open. His eyes locked with Bailey's and his smile grew big. He could feel his heart beat quicken once again, cursing himself for acting so childlike.

Lorna looked from Bailey to Harry and couldn't help but shake her head, smiling.

"So, are you both ready to go?" Lorna asked, breaking the pleasant silence between the three of them.

Bailey looked at her mum and nodded, her hand clasped around her bag that draped around her shoulder.

"Well have a good time then. Don't have her home late!" Lorna jokingly warned, wagging her finger out towards Harry, who giggled softly and shook his head.

"I wouldn't dream of it"

Bailey grinned, her cheeks blushing a little as her mum pulled her into a hug goodbye.

"Bye, mum" Bailey said into the hug, before pulling away and smiling at Lorna.

Bailey turned towards Harry and stepped out of the house, the two of them said another goodbye to Lorna before she shut the door behind them.

They walked up the path and reached the gate. Harry stepped forward and pulled back the gate, allowing Bailey to walk out first. She smiled at him then walked on, her head now towards the ground and her cheeks beaming. Harry's hands found themselves back inside his pockets as he nervously looked over at Bailey, who walked closely alongside him.

"You look lovely today" Harry stated, his dimples piercing through his cheeks.

Bailey looked at the casual outfit that she was wearing then up at Harry. "I do? I didn't think this was anything special"

"You would look lovely in anything that you wear, I'm sure of it" Harry smiled, his eyes shining.

Bailey grinned and bit her lip, she couldn't describe the feeling she had in her stomach at that moment. She was happy, very happy. It felt as though she was flying up into the clouds and nothing could bring her down. She hadn't felt that excited and happy in a long time and she wanted to feel like that forever.

"So how does spending the whole day with me, looking around shops and going to the park sound to you?" Harry asked, a cheeky glint in his eye.

"Hm, will ice cream be included?" Bailey asked, her eyebrows raised in question.

Harry stopped walking and put his hand onto his chest and looked shocked, as though Bailey had just asked if the sky was blue.

"Of course there will be ice cream! I think that goes without saying"

Harry winked and smiled as the sound of Bailey's laugh flew through his ears. He suddenly didn't feel nervous now, his heart had gone back to normal and his hands felt less sweaty to before.

As they walked passed the two women, Harry smiled at them and said another 'hello'. They both stood watching as Harry and Bailey walked on, both excited and anxious about the day ahead.


	14. Chapter 14

A couple of hours had passed by and the sun had begun to shine beautifully out of every direction.

Harry had took Bailey to all of the best shops that he could think of in town, including his favourite clothes shop 'Jack Wills'. As the day had gone on, Bailey felt more and more comfortable around Harry. They had a lot of things in common and Harry no longer felt the nerves bubble inside of his stomach. Instead he felt happy, very happy. He was enjoying spending time with Bailey more than he thought he would.

As they turned a corner leading onto another street of shops, Bailey folded her arms against her chest and looked over at Harry, who happily walked along side her.

"I still haven't had that ice cream you promised me" Bailey said, causing Harry to look at her with a grin as her mouth broke into a cute little pout.

Harry felt his heart flutter and he swallowed calmly. "I'm beginning to think the only reason you said yes to this was so I would buy you ice cream" He raised his eyebrows slightly at Bailey.

Bailey giggled and looked thoughtful at Harry. "It was one of the reasons, yes, but not the only one" Bailey said, smiling.

Harry laughed and shook his head. "Ok then, the lady gets what the lady wants!"

"Thank you, as I should" Bailey respectfully nodded at Harry and then let out a heart filled laugh, her cheeks beaming.

Harry grinned back, his heart speeding up again. He couldn't believe the amount of happiness he felt at that moment. It was as though nothing could stop him from smiling.

They both turned another corner and carried on walking, Harry leading them to the big park at the end of the road. As they reached the gate, Harry stepped back to allow Bailey walk through before him, just as he did back at Bailey's house.

Walking through the park, Bailey smiled as the sound of birds singing and kids playing filled her ears. The sun shone stunningly onto a small pond in the corner, the light glistening on the water. The grass had a freshly cut look to it, the green a deep colour. A white butterfly flew around Harry and Bailey and then landed safely on a daisy that was in the ground.

"This looks a nice spot" Harry said, stopping where they both stood. From here they were directly in the sun and away from most of the people already at the park.

"You sit and get comfy and I'll go get ice cream!" Harry said, smiling and pointed towards an ice cream hut not too far from where they stood.

Bailey nodded and smiled back, before sitting down on the grass, watching Harry make his way over to the hut.

Her eyes travelled to the other side of the park and landed on a family of four sat having a picnic. They had a red and white blanket underneath them and a basket open to the side, all kinds of food had been spread out over the blanket and had been shared between them all.

Bailey watched as the dad of the family tickled the little girl, making her laugh. A slight ache in Bailey's heart was enough to make her look away. She felt tears fill her eyes as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She quickly wiped her eyes as she saw Harry walking back towards where she sat.

He sat down to the side of her and looked worried at Bailey, noticing the sad look on her face.

"A-Are you okay?" Harry asked, not wanting to make Bailey feel any worse just by asking.

Bailey felt her heart sink at the fact that he had noticed. She smiled faintly and nodded, before looking down at the tub of ice cream to see which flavour Harry had got.

"Good choice, strawberry is my favourite!" Bailey exclaimed, smiling up at Harry.

Harry looked down at the ice cream then up at Bailey and smiled back, still worried about her.

He watched as she took one of the two red plastic spoons from Harry and she opened up the tub, taking the lid off and placing it on the grass next to them. His eyes stayed watching as she ran the spoon along the top layer to fill her spoon with the pink ice cream.

Harry smiled as she placed the spoon into her mouth and swallowed its contents. Her eyes were still glistening from her tears and all Harry wanted to do was pull her into a hug and tell her he was there for her. But instead he smiled at her, too afraid to make her feel worse by saying anything.

"Are you going to have any of this or am I eating alone?" Bailey asked, bringing Harry out of his thoughts.

Harry mentally shook himself and lightly laughed. He scooped up some of the ice cream with his own spoon and placed it into his mouth in one movement.


	15. Chapter 15

Bailey lifted up her hand and tucked a piece of hair that had fallen behind her ear as she let out a heart filled laugh looking over at Harry.

"I'm being serious! It wasn't my fault" Harry said, defending himself with a grin.

Bailey raised her eyebrow and shook her head.

"Okay, so you just happened to be there when the ball went through the window and smashed the glass?"

Harry nodded his head, letting his grin become wider making his eyes shine like the sun.

"Yep, that's exactly how it was. The teacher didn't really believe me though"

"I can see why, I mean even I'm not convinced" Bailey admitted, her laugh continuing to fill the air.

Bailey looks down at the plastic spoon still in her hand and she lazily twirls it between two of her fingers as she looks back up at Harry. She laughs again at something else he says, still trying to feed her the innocent story. She feels her heart skip in excitement from looking at the way his grin spreads across his face.

Putting down the spoon onto the top of the closed ice cream tub, Bailey flicks her hair back as she crosses one leg over the other.

"So what do you usually do around here? Apart from getting into mischief, of course" Bailey asked, cheekily grinning over at Harry, making him laugh.

"I actually have a job! I work in the bakery just down the road from here" Harry states, his smile beaming.

Bailey impressively nods and looks down at the ground then back up at Harry.

"So that's what you wanna do, you want to be a baker?"

Harry laughs lightly and shakes his head, his eyes sparkling as they meet Bailey's.

"Nah, it's just a little job to get money in. But for what I want to be, I erm, I actually..well it's kind of stupid I guess" Harry says, stopping and suddenly looking nervous.

"It isn't stupid if it's something you want" Bailey replied, smiling again as she sees a smile reforming on Harry's lips.

"Well, I just love singing! I love the idea of performing to people and to be able to do that would just be..amazing. That's what I want more than anything"

Bailey nods again, her smile becoming bigger.

"That isn't stupid, Harry. You should go for it, you know. If ever an opportunity comes about then take it on. Chase your dream because you never know what might happen" Bailey says, making Harry smile wide and his eyes shine against the sun.

Bailey smiled back at Harry and she looked around where they sat. Her eyes taking in all that's around them.

"You know I have to be honest, I didn't think Cheshire would be as nice as this"

Harry laughs, copying Bailey's actions and he looks around the park.

"It does has lovely views I guess. What was your old place like?" Harry asked, his eyes moving back to Bailey.

Bailey kept her eyes on the ice cream hut ahead of her but wasn't really looking at it as she thought of her old house and where she used to live.

"A lot different to here. I mean this place seems calm and welcoming. Nothing like where I lived"

She turned her head back to Harry and she looked down at the grass again and sighed.

"I have a lot of bad memories from there"

Bailey looked back up at Harry and she could see the change in his features. He looked worried now, like he wanted to help her.

"I guess Rich getting a job over here was the best thing to happen for us" Bailey said, noticing a look of confusion from Harry.

"Rich is my step dad" Bailey added.

Harry nodded then bit his lip, not wanting to say the wrong thing to her.

"And do you..not get on?" Harry asked.

Bailey sighs again and turns her head to the side.

"Not out of choice. I never liked him at the start, everything he did would annoy me. I guess I just never expected my mum to be with anyone else. My dad, he um.." Bailey stopped and looked down into her lap, her eyes filling with tears.

Harry reached out his hand and placed it onto Bailey's, squeezing it gently to show comfort.

"You don't have to carry on" Harry says quietly, his heart feeling heavy in his chest.

Bailey closed her eyes and nodded, then opening them again she looked back at Harry, a small smile on her lips.

Her eyes follow Harry's sudden movements as he puts his hand into his pocket and brings out his phone, showing the screen lit up with a phonecall.

"Sorry, it's my mum. You don't mind do you?" Harry asks, biting his lip and suddenly feeling nervous.

Bailey sweetly smiles and shakes her head, "Not at all"

Harry quickly smiles back at Bailey before pressing the 'accept' button on his phone and placing it to his ear.

"Hey, mum"

Bailey turned her head to look around the park, not wanting to listen in on the private conversation between Harry and his mum.

Her eyes fell back upon the family that still sat enjoying their picnic. Bailey felt a pang in her heart and she sighed softly, turning her eyes away from the scene.

She worked to blink away the tears that had formed in her eyes, not wanting to cry in front of Harry.

Turning her head back, Bailey smiled at Harry as he ended the conversation with his mum and he put his phone back into his pocket.

"I know this is a bit out of the blue but would you like to come for dinner tonight?" Harry asked, trying a smile

"Yeah sure, I'd like that" Bailey replied, her own smile spreading back across her face.


	16. Chapter 16

Harry stood up from the grass and walked over to a bin with the ice cream pot, which was now near enough empty, in his hand. He dropped the pot into the tall green bin then moved away, smiling as Bailey joined him to walk by his side.

Bailey felt a natural smile spread onto her face as they walked, feeling warm inside. As they reached the gate of the park Harry moved forward and just as he did before he pulled open the gate, allowing Bailey to walk ahead of him.

Harry's hands found themselves stuffed back into the pockets of his jeans as he walked. He stole a glance at Bailey and felt his heart skip a beat as she looked up at him with a smile.

"You know, I've really enjoyed today" Bailey said, looking back in front of her still smiling.

"I'm glad you have. Like I said this place is nothing special, but it's nice enough" Harry replied, looking around where they walked.

A pleasant quietness filled the air as they both walked forwards, heading back home. They turned a corner that lead them onto the streets of shops that they passed earlier before their stop to the park.

They finally reached their newly shared street, turning to walk in the direction of their houses. Harry thought back to what had happened at the park, his mind showing the image of the sad look on Bailey's face when she had spoken about her old house and then her dad. Harry couldn't help but feel his heart sink a little, wanting to help her.

"So do you think you'll like it around here?" Harry asked, his voice as heavy as his heart.

"Oh, I think I'm gonna love it!" Bailey replied, looking up at Harry with a grin.

Harry frowned back, a small smile breaking out onto his face.

"I'm sensing sarcasm there"

Bailey laughed, feeling her heart sing with happiness. Her mood changed quickly as they reached their houses. She looked over at Harry's house then over at her own as they stopped walking.

"I better go tell my mum about our dinner plans"

Harry looked over at Bailey's house then back at Bailey who stood with a worried look on her face.

"Want me to come with you?" Harry asked, feeling rude but needing to be there for her as much as he could.

Bailey softly smiled then shook her head, "No I'll be fine. Just give me 10 minutes and I'll be over"

Harry nodded slowly, suddenly feeling unconvinced that Bailey would be okay. He stood motionless as Bailey gave him a weary smile before she walked over to her house. Something inside of Harry screamed at him to go with her, to be there with her. But he shook it off and walked down his drive and over to the front door of his house.

Bailey closed the door behind her and walked through the house, searching around for her mum. She frowned at the empty house as she walked forwards into the kitchen. She sighed and turned around, about to head back for the door when she came face to face with Rich.

"Where have you been?"

Bailey looked at Rich in confusion, suddenly feeling nervous under his stone-like gaze.

"I was out with Harry"

"Who's Harry?" Rich asked coldly, not shifting his eyes away from Bailey.

"He lives next door. He was just showing me around and- I don't even know why I'm explaining myself to you. I'm allowed to go out if I want to" Bailey replied, needing to sound more confident than she felt.

Bailey felt her heart race against her chest as Rich stepped forward, moving closer to where she was stood.

"You keep on with that attitude and you'll regret it" Rich spat out his words, moving even closer to Bailey making her step backwards a little.

Bailey felt her heart beat in sudden fear as her back hit gently against the sideboard of the kitchen. Her eyes moved around to her sides wanting to find a way to move as Rich lifted up his arm, pending her in making sure she couldn't move.

"I decide who you see, is that understood?" Rich asked, his eyes full of anger.

Bailey opened her mouth to speak, to argue back but no words came out. She closed her mouth, her heart aching with each pound against her chest.

"I asked you a question. Is that understood?" Rich asked again, his hand lifting up to grab hold of Bailey's arm as he spoke.

Bailey gasped and looked down at where his fingers were gripped around her arm, squeezing tight. She nodded frantically, feeling a chill go down her spine as he grinned wickedly and moved his hand away from her arm.

He moved away only a little and still kept his icy stare on Bailey, not moving his eyes as he spoke.

"You really think I'm gonna let you go parading around with a boy you don't even know?"

Bailey felt tears sting her eyes as she realised what was coming. It had happened before and she knew it would happen again.

"Do you realise how childish that is?" Rich carried on, not moving away. "He could be anyone!"

Bailey felt her head shake in response, wanting to defend Harry. She tried to speak again, opening her mouth only to stand silent like before.

"You can't even fight back, can you!" Rich laughed, shaking his head pitifully. "You have no one to protect you, Bailey. No one's here for you. Nobody wants you"

Bailey closed her eyes, trying not to let his words get to her as he spoke, his voice cold and harsh.

"If only daddy was here, eh. He would have cared. But..he's not here is he?"

Bailey's eyes flew open and her body shook. She moved forward, her arms hitting out repeatedly on Rich's chest, her eyes close to tears.

"Don't! Don't you dare say anything about my dad!"

Rich grabbed at Bailey's arms and pushed her back against the sideboard.

"I'm trying to be here for you, Bailey, but you won't let me"

Bailey shook her head, feeling herself go dizzy with emotion. A single tear ran down her cheek as she looked back at Rich needing to get away from him.

"Let me go"

"You're not to see him again" Rich stated, ignoring Bailey's protest.

"I said..let me go" Bailey repeated, letting her fists clench under Rich's hold.

Rich stood as though in thought before releasing Bailey's arms and moving aside. She ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and slid down the wood, sitting as she reached the floor.

Letting the tears fall freely now, Bailey sobbed into her hands. She thought about what Rich had said, then she thought of Harry.

Her hand reached into her pocket and she pulled out her phone. She opened up a new message and began to type, her tears still falling.

Harry sat impatiently on the leather sofa, his fingers tapping on the armrest without him realising what he was doing. He glanced up at the clock for the third time in the last 5 minutes and he sighed.

He stopped tapping his fingers and stood up from the sofa. He was about to walk over to the door when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Lifting out his phone, Harry opened up the new message from Bailey:

I don't feel too good, think I'm gonna rest in bed. Thanks for the offer though, and tell your mum I said sorry. B xx


	17. Chapter 17

Bailey turned over in bed and pulled her duvet in closer to her body. Her eyes stared at the wall in front of her as she felt her head pound, starting a headache from the pain.

She sighed and turned over again, now on her back and looking up at the ceiling. Her bedroom was full of darkness with no light coming from the curtains. She let her head sink into her pillow trying to get comfy to help her find sleep.

Her eyes closed slowly needing sleep to take over her tired body. As soon as her eyes were shut, images of what had happened in the kitchen with Rich filled her mind. She played out him grabbing her arm, threatening her, mentioning her dad all in her head, his words replaying over and over. She found herself shaking her head to try to block out the images. Her hands lifted up to her head as she sat up, her eyes filled with tears.

Turning her head towards her bedside table, Bailey reached out and turned on her lamp. She squinted her eyes slightly as the dim light shone around the room, destroying the darkness. She moved her eyes over to her alarm clock and read the time to be 2am.

Bailey lifted her duvet and swung her legs over the edge of her bed, letting her bare feet bury themselves into her carpet. She stood up from her bed and walked over to the chair at her desk, picking up her jacket and putting it on.

She walked over to her door and pulled down the handle before stepping out onto the landing, shutting her door quietly behind her and moved closer to the stairs.

As she reached the last step, Bailey turned and made her way towards the kitchen to get a drink. She stopped as she heard a small sound coming from the living room. She walked closer to the closed door of the room and reached out her hand to grab the handle, pushing the door open slowly.

The room was dark and quiet, Bailey felt her heart pound in fear as she stepped inside the room. Her hand searched the wall for the light switch, lighting up the room. She looked over at the couch where her mum was sat, staring at nothing.

Bailey slowly moved closer, not wanting to startle her mum. As she stood beside her, Bailey studied the look on her mum's face. A look of distance, as though she was deep in thought or in another world altogether.

"Mum?"

Lorna blinked and looked around the room as if only just realising the light was on. Bailey stepped closer and lifted up her hand, letting it rest on her mum's shoulder.

"Is everything okay?" Bailey asked, sitting down next to her mum on the sofa.

Lorna turned her head and looked at Bailey for the first time since she had entered the room. Bailey felt her heart pound harder in worry this time as she noticed the tears in her mum's eyes.

"I couldn't sleep" Lorna replied, her voice small and fragile.

Bailey swallowed and let her hand comfortingly squeeze her mum's shoulder.

"I was thinking about.." Lorna trailed off from her sentence and looked away from Bailey, more tears filling her eyes. "..that day"

Bailey dropped her hand and let it now rest on top of her mum's hand, blinking away her own tears. She sat silent as Lorna continued to stare over at the wall, her gaze not shifting from the radiator.

"Moving here just..makes me think we've lost him completely" Lorna spoke again, this time a single tear ran down her cheek with her words.

Bailey wrapped her hand tight around her mum's, her tears threatening to fall.

"He's still with us in our memories. And in our hearts"

Lorna looked back at Bailey and a small smile edged itself onto her lips, making her tears seam less alarming. Her smile was gone as quick as it had appeared and it was replaced with a nod.

"You're right, he is" Lorna sighed softly, trying another small smile.

Bailey squeezed her mum's hand, gently rubbing her thumb along the soft skin.

"Things will get better, mum. With time it won't hurt as much"

Lorna looked back at Bailey, seeing the sad look in her daughter's eyes and feeling the need to be there for her.

"You're such a bright girl, Bailey. I'm proud of you"

Bailey smiled at her mum before moving towards her to hug her. Bailey let her head rest on Lorna's shoulder, feeling safe in her mum's arms.

They sat in silence for a short while, their thoughts mirroring each other's. Lorna lifted up her hand and entwined her fingers in Bailey's hair, her soft locks tickling Lorna's skin.

Lorna dipped her head and pressed a warm kiss to the top of Bailey's head, before smiling and continued playing with her hair.

"How was your day out with Harry?" Lorna asked, breaking the silence.

Bailey went to speak but stopped herself as she thought back to Rich's words about her seeing Harry. 'You really think I'm gonna let you go parading around with a boy you don't even know'

"It was..nice" Bailey answered, not daring to say anything more.

"He seems lovely. You want to stay friends with him, having someone like him around is what you need right now" Lorna replied, watching as a piece of Bailey's hair fell from her grasp and landed with a slight curl.

Bailey lifted up her head and looked back at her mum. "I think I'm gonna go back to bed"

Lorna nodded and smiled, standing from the sofa with Bailey beside her.

"Yeah me too. Thanks Bailey, for everything"

Bailey felt her eyes fill up again and she moved forwards, pulling her mum back into a tight hug. Her eyes shut tight as she felt herself relax in their embrace.

Lorna pulled back and smiled again.

"Goodnight, sweetheart"

"Night, mum"

Bailey smiled and turned, walking towards the door. She moved back over to the stairs and began to walk upwards. As she reached her bedroom, she pushed open the door before closing it again once she was inside.

She took off her jacket and draped it around the back of the chair, just how it was before she left the room. Walking towards her bed, Bailey sat down onto her mattress, reaching forwards to switch off her lamp.

A small red light caught her eye as she looked down at her table. Her phone flashed again, meaning she had a new message. Picking up the phone, Bailey lifted up her legs and wrapped the duvet back around her body. She opened up the menu and clicked onto the new message.

Hey, sorry it's late I just wanted to make sure everything was ok? I really enjoyed spending time with you, hopefully we can do that again soon. Here if you need me, H xx

Bailey couldn't help a smile form on her lips, spreading across her face as she re-read the words on the screen. Her mind switched over to the images of Rich and his words danced around in her head. 'You're not to see him again'

Her finger hovered over the 'reply' button, hesitant to what she should do. She mentally shook herself, she wouldn't let him win again, she wouldn't let him get what he wants. If she wanted to see Harry again then it was her decision, not his.

She pressed down on the button and typed out her message to send in reply. Once she was done she hit 'send' and watched as the message shown as delivered. She put her phone back down onto her table, turning over in her bed. Her head fell deeper into the comfort of her pillow as she closed her eyes, her smile still beaming on her face.

Harry picked up his phone from the side of him as the sound of a new message echoed around his bedroom. He quickly opened up the message, his heart still full of worry.

Hey, yeah everything is fine don't worry. I enjoyed it too :) well I am yet to taste your mum's cooking, so I shall await my next invitation! Thank you, that means a lot. Right now all I need is sleep, so we'll speak soon. Night night, B xx

A wide smile spread out along Harry's lips, his heart finally calm for the first time all night. He read the message once more before closing it and putting down his phone.

He sunk back down into his pillow and closed his eyes, his smile still wide on his face.


	18. Chapter 18

Bailey slowly opened her eyes and blinked at the light from the sun shining in on her room. She moved her eyes over to her bedside table to see her phone flashing with an un-read message.

Reaching her arm out from underneath the duvet and over to the table, Bailey picked up her phone and pressed down on the 'unlock' button. Once the phone was unlocked her eyes squinted from the bright light of the screen, blinking again to familiarise herself with the change of light.

Seeing she had a new message, Bailey clicked to open it up, automatically smiling as she read Harry's name as the sender.

Without wanting to sound like a creepy pervert, you look cute when you sleep :) H xx

Bailey's smile grew wider, her heart beating heavy against her chest. She lifted up her head and looked over at the window in front of her, realising she hadn't closed her curtains before she had got into bed the night before.

She looked back down at the message and read the time it was sent to be 9:03am. Her eyes then travelled to the time on her phone and read it as 10:22am. She still had a smile stitched onto her face as she clicked 'reply' and began to type out a message to send back.

Thank you, mr creepy pervert :) isn't 9 in the morning too early for you? I didn't have you down as an early riser! B xx

Putting her phone back down on the table, Bailey pulled back the duvet and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She then stood up and walked over to the door to make her way to the bathroom.

The house was silent as Bailey stepped out onto the landing. She looked over at her mum and Rich's bedroom to see the door still shut. She looked away and carried on walking to the bathroom, closing the door once she was inside.

After she had finished, she pulled open the door and walked forward to see Rich coming out of their bedroom. Bailey felt her heart beat in a panic against her chest, remembering their conversation. Rich had a cheery grin on his face as he walked closer to Bailey.

"Good morning, Bailey!"

Bailey just managed a small 'morning' as her reply before she turned away and walked back into her bedroom, closing the door quickly and leaning against it feeling her heart beat slow down.

The sound of a small vibration noise coming from the bedside table caused Bailey to look over towards her bed. She looked at her phone and saw the light flash, confirming another message and she instantly smiled again.

Walking towards the table she leant forward to pick up her phone. She unlocked it once again and opened up the new message

Early bird catches the worm! Now I'm curious to know what you did have me down as.. H xx

Bailey grinned and again she looked up at the window in front of her but still couldn't see anything of Harry. She looked back down at the message and rushed to send her reply.

Only nice things, I promise! :) B xx

Bailey walked out of the door of the local shop and pulled out her headphones and put them into her ears. She brought her iPod out of her pocket to find a song, smiling once she was satisfied. She put her iPod back into her pocket and started to slowly walk along the stoned path.

As she was walking her mind got lost in the song, her thoughts had disappeared and she felt relaxed, almost in another world. She continued to walk as she felt a hand reach out to touch her shoulder. Fearing the worst, Bailey quickly spun around with her heart beating fast, about to speak but stopping as Harry stood in front of her with a wide smile on his face.

Bailey quickly took out her headphones and stopped the music, feeling her heart settle in her chest.

"Hey, sorry if I scared you" Harry said, not shifting his smile.

Bailey felt her cheeks flush slightly, then smiled back, "No you didn't, it's fine"

Harry grinned back, then looked forward then back to Bailey, "You going home? I can walk with you, if you like?"

"Yeah, yeah that'd be nice" Bailey replied with a small smile.

They began to walk forward beside one another, a pleasant silence floating around them. Bailey put her hands into her pockets and thought back to their text conversation they had that morning.

"So, did you catch many worms?" Bailey asked, turning her head to look over at Harry with an eyebrow raised.

Harry laughs looking down at the ground as he walked. He lifted his head to look up at Bailey, "None actually, there is one worm I have my eye on but I'm waiting for the right time to catch it"

"Wow, must be some worm" Bailey said, smiling back at Harry.

Harry nods his head and smiles down at the ground, feeling butterflies in his stomach.

As they reach the end of the path Harry looks back up at Bailey, his hands suddenly sweating with nerves, "Do you wanna come back to mine for a bit? We can watch a film, or something"

Bailey shot her head up to look at Harry, slightly shocked at the sudden invitation. She thought about Rich and what he had said to her, she knew that if he knew she was with Harry again after what he said he wouldn't like it.

Harry's smile faded at the corners as he waited for Bailey to respond, her face deep in thought.

"It's fine if not, I understand" Harry quickly said, not wanting Bailey to feel pushed into saying yes.

"No, I want to, why not" Bailey replied, giving Harry a reassuring smile.

They turned a corner and walked along another path leading to their houses. Once they had approached Harry's house they began to walk down the long driveway. Bailey looked over at her own house hoping she wouldn't be seen by Rich. Harry looked over at Bailey and sensed her mood had changed, now she seemed on edge as if something bad would happen.

2 hours later

Bailey looked at the small plasma screen TV that was sat on a glass stand in the corner of Harry's room. She tried to focus as the film played out but her mind didn't want to. She was sat beside Harry on his head, their backs rested against the headboard with pillows for cushion.

Bailey's eyes slowly moved away from the screen and landed on her knee that was pressed against Harry's leg. She felt her heart beat speed up slightly as she quickly looked back at the TV trying to get back into the film they were watching.

Out the corner of her eye Bailey could see Harry's hand reach out to grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl that was close to her. Their eyes met briefly and they shared a smile, both of them looking back to the TV without saying a word.

Bailey, once again, tried to focus on the film but she couldn't help but drift her mind away, thinking about how close she was sat to Harry. The scent of his aftershave wafted up to her nostrils, making her heart childishly skip a beat.

She mentally shook herself, moving her hand down to the bowl of popcorn as a distraction to her thoughts. She looked down to the bowl, her hand joined by Harry's as he leaned forward at the same time.

Bailey looked up at Harry, letting their hands touch slightly as their eyes met again. Butterflies flew all around inside Bailey's stomach as she stared into Harry's eyes, those eyes she had fallen in love with from the moment she saw him.

Harry lifted up his other hand to Bailey's forehead where he slowly moved away a piece of her brown hair, tucking it behind her ear and not once moving his eyes away from her own. He slowly leant forward, bringing his head closer to Bailey's.

Their lips almost touched, seconds apart, when a shout from downstairs interrupted their actions.

"Harry, is Bailey staying for tea?"


	19. Chapter 19

Harry moved away with a sorry look on his face, suddenly feeling the nerves returning in his stomach. He could feel his cheeks becoming flushed and he silently prayed Bailey wouldn't notice. He cleared his throat, his heart racing beneath his chest.

"Are you um, are you staying for tea?" Harry asked, his voice wavering slightly.

Bailey opened her mouth to speak but her words failed her. She felt her heart beat fast against her chest, moving her gaze down away from Harry's eyes.

A sudden 'beep' coming from Bailey's pocket filled the silence in the room. She quickly pulled her phone out from her pocket seeing a new message from Rich.

'where are you? you've been gone for hours. get home now!'

Bailey felt her heart sink with fear after reading the message, each word alarming her. She quickly closed the text then put her phone back into her pocket, looking back up at Harry to see his eyes travel back to her in confusion.

"I erm, I need to go I'm sorry. That was my mum, she needs help with something" Bailey said, feeling her heart pound as she spoke, not sure if she was convincing enough.

Harry didn't say anything in reply, instead he stared back at Bailey not moving his eyes away from her own. Bailey fought to look away as she stood up from the bed then moving over to grab her jacket from the chair in the corner of Harry's room.

Harry watched from where he was still sat on his bed, feeling guilty as Bailey put on her jacket then turned back to smile at Harry.

"I've had a lovely time, thank you" Bailey said, her smile still on her face.

Harry smiled back but then it faded slowly. Still feeling the guilt inside of him he sighed softly then stood up from the bed, walking over to where Bailey was stood.

"Bailey, I haven't messed things up between us have I? I probably shouldn't have done that, I mean we hardly know each other and it wasn't fair for me to just come on to you like that and I'm really sorry" Harry stopped talking and let out another sigh, feeling more nerves inside his stomach.

Bailey slowly let her lips break out into another smile, "You have nothing to apologise for, honestly it's fine. And you haven't messed anything up"

Harry weakly smiled but still felt his heart pound hard with guilt. His head lowered with his gaze down at the floor, biting his lip nervously.

Another smile crept onto Bailey's lips as she slowly stepped closer to Harry. His head lifted back up once he had realised Bailey had moved and he smiled in return, catching her eyes with his.

"You're cute when you blush" Bailey spoke softly, her voice almost a whisper.

Harry's heart skipped a beat as he realised Bailey could tell he was blushing. He kept his eyes locked with hers, a cheeky smile creeping onto his mouth.

"Only when I blush?"

Bailey grinned back at Harry shaking her head with a laugh.

"Other times too"

Moving her head closer, Bailey pressed a soft kiss to Harry's lips. Her hand found itself being entwined with Harry's as she pulled her head back, staring into his eyes and feeling her heart beat faster.

Seconds passed by with neither of them breaking the eye contact. Their smiles matched each other's and the heart racing feelings passed through both of their bodies.

"I better go" Bailey finally said, not at all wanting to ruin the moment but knew she had to leave.

Harry slowly nodded for his reply, giving Bailey's hand a gentle squeeze before moving his away. He smiled back at her then nervously bit his lip.

"I'll um, I'll text you?"

Bailey smiled then nodded before slowly turning around to walk over to the door. She lifted up her hand to reach for the handle to pull it down then open the door. She was about to leave when Harry's voice stopped her.

"Bailey wait.."

Turning her head back to face Harry, Bailey stood waiting for him to speak again.

"I erm..I had a great time today"

Bailey slowly let a small smile spread onto her face, sensing Harry wanted to say more but instead he stuffed his hands into his pockets then smiled back.

"Me too, thank you" Bailey replied, smiling again before turning back around to leave the room.

Bailey let out a deep sigh as she walked down the drive of her house. She felt a slightly scared feeling in the pit of her stomach, a completely opposite feeling to the one she had just a few minutes ago when she was with Harry.

She sighed again as she walked closer to the front door, a small voice inside of her telling her to be strong and stay calm, everything would be okay.

Pushing the door open, Bailey quickly shut it behind her then looked around the house hearing no signs of movement.

"Hello?" She called out, counting to 10 in her head awaiting a reply.

Bailey let out a sigh of relief as the silence of the house filled her ears. She moved forward towards the bottom of the staircase, unbuttoning her jacket as she walked.

"Why are you back so late?"

Bailey stopped walking, her feet nailed to the ground as she turned around slightly. Her gaze fell upon Rich who was walking out of the kitchen with an annoyed look on his face.

Bailey didn't speak. Her heart beat had increased again, feeling fear sweep through her body as she continued to look back at Rich.

"I asked you a question, Bailey"

Words suitable for a reply popped into Bailey's brain but she still didn't speak, afraid of saying the wrong thing. She watched as Rich stepped closer to where she was stood. His eyes were dark with anger and his fists were clenched.

"Was you with him?"

Bailey swallowed what was in her mouth feeling her throat suddenly becoming dry. From the look written on Rich's face she knew she had to reply, even if he wasn't going to like the answer to his question. Her head slowly nodded in reply while her heart pounded heavily against her chest.

Rich glared at Bailey then shook his head.

"I told you not to see him again"

Bailey cleared her throat, needing to sound more confident than she felt.

"I..I just bumped into him in the street..then we went back to his to watch a film, that's all"

The air fell silent around them both, Bailey stood nervously waiting for Rich to speak again. The anger in his eyes hadn't gone as he still looked back at Bailey.

"You should have said no. I told you to stay away from him and yet you still saw him" Rich spat out, his anger showing in his voice.

Rich moved closer to Bailey in a sudden movement and he grabbed hold of her arm, twisting it slightly. Bailey looked down at his hand gripped tightly around her arm and she let out a gasp, feeling the pain travel up to her shoulder.

"You're hurting me!" Bailey cried out, looking back up at Rich with her eyes pleading for him to stop.

"I told you not to see him again but you still did! How dare you disrespect me like that!" Rich said, tightening his grip on Bailey's arm.

Bailey felt tears sting the corners of her eyes as she tried to free her arm. She shook it away from his grasp and quickly ran up the stairs, needing to get away from Rich.

"Get back here! Don't walk away from me!" Rich shouted up the stairs, before quickly following Bailey.

Rich caught up with Bailey just before she was able to close her bedroom door behind her. His hand reached out to take hold of her arm again this time trying to stop her from moving away.

Bailey let out a panicked sob, pushing Rich away from her making her fall back against her desk. Rich moved to lift her back up by her shoulder, his fingers digging into her skin with a harsh amount of pressure.

"Stop please!" Bailey cried again, scared of how far Rich would go this time.

Rich didn't stop. His hand moved from Bailey's shoulder and down to keep hold of her arm. His other hand was still clenched into a tight fist.

"I've had enough of you not obeying my rules! When I tell you to do something you do it. And when I say you can't see someone then you don't see them, is that understood?" Rich said, his voice thick with anger.

Bailey didn't respond, instead she desperately tried to move her arm away from where Rich had his hand held tight.

"You're bringing this on yourself, Bailey. I'm just trying to look out for you and you're throwing it back into my face" Rich said, having a softer edge to his voice now.

"Just get off me! I don't need you to look out for me!" Bailey said, still struggling to get away from Rich's grasp.

Rich sighed then shook his head. "You don't get it do you? You don't have anyone else. Not since your dad.."

Bailey stopped trying to move her arm away at the mention of her dad. Her eyes looked up into Rich's and she could feel more tears welling up. She shook her head in disbelief of him talking about her dad, her head suddenly felt dizzy with so many emotions.

"Well he isn't here now. And your mum is just useless! So I'm all you have" Rich finished, giving Bailey a smug smile.

Bailey suddenly lifted her fist up to start hitting against Rich's chest, shaking her head with tears spilling out of her eyes as she did.

"Don't talk about my mum like that! I don't even want you in my life. I hate you!"

Rich quickly grabbed hold of Bailey's hand to stop her from hitting him any further. He pushed her back against her desk again with his other hand still on her arm. His face was showing nothing but anger as he moved his other hand away from Bailey's.

"I've given everything to you to give you a better life, you ungrateful bitch!" Rich shouted, lifting up his hand.

Bailey's eyes fell upon Rich's hand, she knew what was coming.

Harry shut his bedroom door behind him before walking over to turn his TV off. He turned to face the bed then leant forward to pick up the bowl of popcorn. He moved over to put the bowl down onto his corner table then he walked away.

His eyes travelled over to his window and a smile etched its way onto his mouth as he thought of Bailey. He walked over to the window then opened the curtains, looking over at Bailey's own window.

Harry stood motionless at the view before him. His mouth opened in shock and his heart pounded against his chest. From his window he saw Bailey being held back against her desk with Rich stood holding onto her arm.

Harry could tell Rich was shouting, even through the thick glass. The way he looked at Bailey made Harry's blood boil, anger rushed through him and he needed to protect her.

He was about to turn around and rush over to help Bailey when he was stopped by Rich's next move. Harry watched as Rich spoke then quickly lifted up his hand and in one sudden movement he slapped Bailey hard across her cheek.


	20. Chapter 20

Every part of Harry's body became numb. His eyes widened from what he had just seen happen and his heart thumped hard against his chest while the scene played out in his head over and over without stopping.

He watched as Rich left the room leaving Bailey with her hand lifted up to her cheek with her head down. He blinked away the tears that stung the corners of his eyes then he backed away from the window.

He turned away slightly, thinking over what he should do. He wanted to go over there and comfort Bailey, hit out at Rich for what he had done to her and he wanted nothing more than to be by her side to help her. But he also didn't want to upset her more than she already was.

Sighing deeply, he took out his phone from his pocket and opened up a new message to send to Bailey. His fingers clicked over the keys as he typed:

is everything okay? you know where i am if you need me, for anything xx

He knew it wasn't enough, not after what had just happened but he at least wanted her to know she had him. He pressed 'send' then nervously bit on his lip, looking back up at the window to see Bailey take out her own phone from her jacket pocket.

From his view from the window, Harry watched as Bailey typed on her phone then she put it down on the desk. As she turned slightly, still with her head down, Harry could clearly see tears streaming down her face and a slight red mark spread on her cheek.

A noise coming from his phone made him tear his eyes away and move them onto the screen, showing he had a new message. He opened it up and read Bailey's reply.

yeah everything is fine :) thanks I'll remember that xx

Harry re-read the first four words over and over, feeling his heart sink to the pit of his stomach. It wasn't fine, he knew that and he wanted to tell Bailey that he knew and he would be there for her. But he couldn't do it.

He looked back up at the window and watched Bailey move over to her bed to sit down. She lifted up her arm and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. She leaned back on her mattress and rolled over to face the wall, closing her eyes as she felt her cheek sting with the pain.

Harry sighed then walked away from the window mentally kicking himself. A voice inside his head told him he should go over and be with her. He wanted to do everything he could to protect her, but he chose against doing that. Instead he put his phone back into his pocket then walked out of his bedroom with a heavy heart.

* The next morning *

Bailey ran as fast as she could, feeling her heart beat quicken through sheer panic. She didn't dare look behind her. Her eyes were fixed forwards all set on getting away from him, if she turned around to check it would slow her down. She had to get away.

She heard her name being called but she ignored it. It made her run faster, not really sure where she was heading. Her name was called again, louder this time.

Her footing was suddenly lost and with one harsh landing, Bailey tripped and fell to the ground. She rushed to get up and start running again but a hand reached out and grabbed her arm stopping her. She turned to look at him towering above her with an angry glare deeply showing on his face. She tried to move away, struggling to release her arm from his tight grasp. She stopped as soon as she saw his arm raise and his hand formed into a fist. Her eyes widened and her heart beat sped up even more.

"No! Please!"

Bailey's eyes flew open and she sat up in bed with her heart pounding and her throat dry. She looked around her bedroom confused and scared before realising it was just a dream. She let out a deep breath then stood up from her bed walking over to the door.

Once she was out on the landing she quickly glanced over to her Mum and Rich's room seeing the door shut. She walked over to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. As she moved away from the door she caught her reflection in the mirror, a small gasp left her mouth.

She moved closer to the mirror and lifted up her hand to her cheek. A big red mark had been left from the events of yesterday, a harsh reminder of what had happened.

Bailey picked up a flannel and rinsed it with cold water. She lifted it up to her cheek and gently dabbed at it hoping it would help. The coolness of the water felt soothing against her warm skin, the softness of the flannel contrasted with the hard assault her cheek had received the previous day.

She felt her eyes fill up with tears but she blinked them away, not wanting to feel weak by crying. She had done enough of that already.

As soon as Harry was awake he felt the same feeling in the pit of his stomach. He felt useless to his new friend, he couldn't help but feel he should have done something about what he saw rather than just ignore it.

Sitting up in bed, Harry reached over for his phone simply to check for any messages. He had two new and unread messages and he opened them quickly, only to be disappointed when neither of the two were from Bailey.

He thought about texting her to check if she was okay but then he reminded himself that he did that yesterday and if she needed him then she would speak to him. He spun his phone carelessly in his hand as he thought then he put it back down on his bedside table.

Pulling the duvet back, Harry stepped out of his bed and walked over to the window with his heart pounding afraid of what he would see but also from what he had seen already. He lifted up his hands to pull open the curtains letting the bright light of the sun shine into his bedroom. His eyes looked straight ahead into the bedroom of next door, Bailey's.

The room was empty. Harry couldn't help but feel the same disappointed feeling as before and he sighed turning away from the window.

He turned back to his bed then set about putting the duvet back straight. He lifted it up to shake it out, hearing something drop as he did. Confusion crept onto his face and he stepped around to the other side of the bed.

Harry looked down at the floor and saw something shiny lay on his carpet. He bent down and picked up the object to observe it closely. It was a black bracelet with a silver charm on in the shape of a small teddy bear.

Harry looked back over at the window then at the bracelet again as he realised it must be Bailey's. He looked closer and saw the silver clasp was broken, self explaining how it must have fallen off Bailey's wrist while she was round there the day before.

Standing up, Harry again looked over to the window now seeing Bailey walk back into her bedroom and then sit down on her bed. He glanced back to the bracelet in his hand and a small smile etched itself onto his face. At least now he had a reason to go over to Bailey's house.


	21. Chapter 21

As Harry walked out of his bedroom he closed the door behind him then moved over to the top of the stairs. He looked down at the bracelet in his hands then he smiles before putting it safely into the pocket of his jeans. Once he reaches the last step he walks to where his shoes were left untidily on the floor then he puts them on, grabbing his jacket from the hook before walking into the kitchen.

"Mum, I'm just nipping out" Harry says, putting on his jacket.

Anne looks up from her newspaper and frowns over at Harry, finishing her bit of toast before looking up at the clock on the wall.

"A bit early for you, isn't it? I don't usually see you out of your room until dinnertime, let alone leave the house" Anne raises an eyebrow and cheekily grins at Harry.

Harry grins back, taking her joke then he blinks feeling a stray curl fall into his eye. His hands lift up to shake through his hair then in one swift movement he lifts it to the side, away from both of his eyes.

"I'm only going next door. I won't be out long"

Harry smiles then walks forward a little to leave a soft kiss to Anne's cheek then she calls a quick 'bye' as he walks out of the house closing the door behind him. His hands sit inside the pockets of his jacket as he walks out of his driveway. He smiles over at the woman who lives in the house across the road, seeing her out in her garden with a rake in her hand.

Turning back to look at the house next to him, Harry walks over to the small gate and lifts up his hand to open it. He moves forward and reaches the front door, his hand leaving the warmth of his pocket to knock then he waits.

He isn't waiting long before the door opens and he's met with a stoned face look on the man he saw from his window the night before. He feels his stomach drop and an uneasiness washes over him. His throat tightens and his entire mind goes blank, he should probably say something but right now he can't. He just stares back at the man in front of him.

"Do you want something?" Rich asks, a look of irritation clear on his face.

Harry blinks then looks away for a few seconds and clears his throat before looking back at Rich, "Can I..um..can I see Bailey, please?"

Rich doesn't speak, he squints his eyes slightly as though he's looking over Harry. As he reaches his eyes again he looks as though a thought enters his mind, "You're Harry, right?"

Harry nods his head slowly, not really sure how else he was suppose to reply to that. His hands suddenly feel clammy with sweat and his heart beats louder in his chest. He hates the nervous feeling he has but the look on Rich's face is enough for him to feel uncomfortable and a little bit scared.

"I thought so. I'm sorry, Bailey won't be seeing anyone today. It was nice meeting you" Rich said, a small, evil smile curved onto his face as his hand began to close the door.

"But I-"

Harry's cut off as the door shuts in his face. He stands back a little then lets out a frustrated sigh. He thinks about knocking again but then he decides against it and moves away from the door, walking back over to the gate. He walks back over to his driveway then looks up at where Bailey's window is then he takes out his phone.

Bailey moves frantically around her bedroom, picking up scattered pieces of clothing then chucking them back down and moving around to stand at her desk. Her eyes scan the top of her desk, moving books and bits of paper away, and she sighs then turns back around. She worriedly begins to chew on the inside of her mouth as she looks around her bedroom. Her eyes fall onto the jacket she was wearing the day before, draped over her chair. She quickly moved over to it then picked it up, her hands going into each of the pockets as she searched.

After not finding anything in the pockets, she sighed again then chucked her jacket back down onto the chair. Her heart slowly began to sink as she sat down on her bed, looking down at her bare wrist with a sad look in her eyes. 'It has to be somewhere' Bailey thought, 'it can't have just disappeared'

The sound of her phone vibrating on her bedside table took her away from her thoughts. She looked over at her lit up phone and reached over to pick it up, feeling a flutter in her stomach as she sees Harry's name on the screen. Once she had accepted the call, Bailey put her phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I um, sorry if this is a bad time.."

"No, no it's fine" Bailey heard the distant sound of footsteps coming up the stairs making her look towards her closed door.

"I called round but um, well I wasn't exactly welcomed in. Your step dad, or I think that was him, said something about you not seeing anyone today"

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. Was there something you wanted?" Bailey asked, feeling her cheeks flushing with her heart beat speeding up.

"I wanted to see you. Can you-I mean, do you wanna meet? I have something for you"

"Yeah, yeah we can meet" Bailey crossed her eyes in confusion, "Wait, did you say you have something for me?"

From the other side of the call Bailey could hear the sound of a small laugh coming from Harry, "Yeah, well at least I think it's yours. Anyway erm, I'll wait for you on my drive. Are you sure this is okay?"

Bailey looked back up at her door and realised the footsteps had stopped. She bit her lip then nodded her head, "Yeah of course. I'll just climb out of my window or something"

There was another laugh from Harry, causing a small smile appear on her face.

"Well if you do I'll be here to catch you, although looking at it that's quite a big drop you'll have to face"

Bailey laughed then looked over at her window, biting on her lip. She stood up from her bed and walked to the other side of her bedroom, peering out through the glass to look outside. Her eyes were met by Harry's as he looked back up at her, a big grin on his face stood with his own phone against his ear.

"I think I'll go for the door. You don't really look the superhero type, no offence" Bailey teased, grinning back at Harry through her view from the window. She laughed lightly at the shocked expression on his face.

"How about now?" Harry asked, shifting into a 'Superman' posture with his legs apart slightly and his hands formed into a fist then pressed against his hips. His face had turned serious with his head turned up to the sky.

He holds the pose for a few more seconds then moves back, bringing his phone to his ear again. "Not bad, huh? Of course you'd have to imagine there was a red cape flowing behind me"

Bailey laughs into her phone then shakes her head through the window, "You're crazy!"

"Hey, you're the one planning to jump out of a window!" Harry replies, raising his eyebrows up towards Bailey.

Bailey laughs again then looks away from the window when she hears a noise on the landing. Her head moves back to the glass, "I need to go. I'll be down in five"

She smiles down at him then moves away from the window, moving her phone down from her ear to end the call. She picks up her jacket from the chair then walks out of her bedroom onto the landing. As she's putting her jacket on she hears the shuffle of footsteps move closer to her.

"Going somewhere?"

Bailey spins around to see Rich stood with his arms folded against his chest, an eyebrow raised on his stone face.

"Yeah, just..out"

"Who with?" Rich asks, his voice calm but firm.

Bailey opens her mouth to speak but closes it again shortly after, suddenly not knowing what to say in reply. Rich steps a little closer to her now, not shifting the stone look he has on his face.

"You know what I think about him, and I told you not to see him again" Rich stops then lets a couple of seconds pass before he speaks again, this time lowering his voice. "I thought I made myself clear last night. You don't want that to happen again, do you?"

Bailey slowly shook her head, looking anywhere but at Rich, wanting to just push him away and run out of the house.

"So you're not going out, you're not seeing him and you're not even going to talk to him, understood?"

Bailey turns her head to look back at Rich and glares slightly, about to reply when she sees her mum walk out of their bedroom, moving closer over to them.

"You off out, love?"

"No she's not going anywhere, are you Bailey?" Rich answers, staring back at Bailey.

"She can go out if she wants, better than being stuck in all day. Enjoy this sun!" Lorna replies, smiling over at Bailey with a loving look in her eyes.

Rich turns around slowly and blinks at Lorna but doesn't speak. Lorna moves her gaze from Bailey to Rich and her smile drops, seeing the darkness in his eyes as he stared back at her. She looks away quickly and blinks her focus back to Bailey.

"You go out, sweetheart. Have fun"

Bailey looks unsure as her eyes move over to Rich and see him now stood closer to her mum with his hand tight on her wrist. She felt her heartbeat quicken in a panic as she looked back over at her mum, seeing that all too familiar look of sadness in her eyes, even as she smiled back at her it was still there.

She reluctantly walked over to the staircase, looking back over at her mum to see her weak smile still there. Bailey bit her lip then walked down the stairs, her heart beating against her chest with a voice in her head telling her to go back, to stay. She sighed heavily then walked over to the front door before opening it to feel to breeze in the air calmingly brush over her. She shut the door behind her then walked up the driveway, turning out of the gate to find Harry now stood near a hedge at the top of his drive.

As Bailey walked over to him, Harry's smile started to fade quickly, seeing the sad and worried look in her eyes. He decided against mentioning it, instead he looked down the street then back to Bailey.

"Wanna go for a walk?"

Bailey smiled then nodded her head, moving to walk by Harry's side.


	22. Chapter 22

"So, you said you had something for me"

Harry teared his eyes away from the road ahead and turned to look at Bailey, his mind taking in what she had said. He quickly thought of the bracelet he had tucked away inside his pocket then nodded his head.

"I think it's yours, I found it on my floor and I definitely know it isn't mine" Harry explained, bringing his hand out of his pocket to hold out to Bailey, showing her the bracelet.

Bailey's eyes lit up, a pleased look on her face, as she gently took the bracelet from Harry.

"I thought I'd lost it! Thank you, so much!"

Harry smiled as he watched her fasten the bracelet back onto her wrist, her eyes sparkling as she stared down at the teddy bear charm.

"It must be quite special for you to be so happy to have it back" Harry stated, his eyes shifting from Bailey to the pathway to make sure they didn't end up walking into somebody.

He turned back to Bailey, realising she hadn't replied and his smile faded when he saw a sad look taking over her face. Her fingers carefully spun the charm around, feeling her eyes fill with tears.

"It was a present from my dad. He gave it to me on my 8th birthday"

Harry nodded his head slowly, giving a comforting smile as Bailey looked up at him. Her hand dropped from her wrist and she sniffed away her tears, taking a deep breath as they continued to walk.

A silence grew over them as they turned the corner at the end of the street and the park came into view. As they walked closer to a bench that was just outside of the park gates, Bailey swallowed then nervously put her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

"My dad, he um..he passed away, when I was 10"

Harry looked back up at Bailey with a worried look in his eyes.

"I'm really sorry to hear that"

Bailey sniffed again then moved to sit down on the bench, waiting for Harry to sit down next to her. Her hands left her pockets to rest on her legs, her fingers shaking slightly with nerves.

"How did it happen?" Harry asked, his head turning to the side to look at Bailey. "I understand if you don't wanna talk about it"

Bailey gave a small smile before letting out another deep breath.

"He was a fireman. Had been for about 10 years. One day while he was on duty, he was called out just as he normally was. After he'd put out the fire and made sure everyone was out of the building, he was making his way out when the walls crumbled around him, leaving him trapped under the rubble"

Harry saw a single tear fall from Bailey's eye and he quickly reached out his hand to take hers holding it as she continued her story.

"It was too late to save him after that. There was nothing anyone could do, he was already gone"

Harry comfortingly squeezed Bailey's hand as she wiped away another tear.

"It was so hard after that. Mum couldn't cope, she didn't know how to. I was there for her as much as I could be but I was hurting too, you know? She completely closed up, she wouldn't sleep or eat, some days she wouldn't even speak. We moved in with her sister and eventually things picked up. She got a new job, went out more with friends, tried to have a life again. And then she met Rich"

Bailey stopped then looked down into her lap, feeling her eyes start to fill with tears again. Harry squeezed her hand again as visions of what he had saw through his window flashed inside his head.

"He flashed his money about, buying presents for everyone to worm his way in. Mum fell for it, of course. She was in love again and for the first time in so long she was happy, and no matter how much I hated having him around, he was the reason she was smiling again"

Bailey sighed then lifted up her head, feeling a soft breeze hit at her face in a soothing way.

"I was right about him. Mum thought he was perfect, everything she had ever wanted. But I knew what he was really like. And I was right"

Bailey turned her head to see Harry taking all of this in and she instantly felt bad, a scared feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said all of that"

Harry slowly looked up at Bailey then let out a deep sigh.

"Bailey, I need to tell you something"

Bailey nodded her head slowly, waiting for Harry to carry on speaking.

"Yesterday I, I was looking through my window and I, well, I saw what he did to you"

Bailey felt her heart double up in a panic. Her face had turned white and the sickness feeling in her stomach grew bigger. Her eyes filled with more tears and her head spun, feeling a mix of humiliation and fear. She moved her hand away from Harry's then shakily stood up from the bench.

"I-I need to go"

"No, Bailey wait!" Harry said, standing up from the bench as he watched Bailey quickly walk out of sight.

As Bailey reached her house she quickly wiped away her tears and walked close to the front door. Her heart sped up in panic at the sound of raised voices from inside of the house. Her hand slowly lifted up to open the door, bracing herself for what she would see.

Closing the door behind her, Bailey walked through the kitchen hearing the shouting louder now, coming from behind the closed door of the living room. Her eyes moved over to the staircase to see Nick stood with his eyes full of tears, a scared look on his face. Bailey felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach just from looking at him, not used to seeing him so upset.

"Hey little man! Need a hug?" Bailey asked, moving closer to the stairs.

Nick nodded his head, not speaking but lifting up his arms as Bailey walked over to where he was stood. His arms wrapped around Bailey's neck as he was lifted up into a hug.

"Why are they shouting?" Nick asked, his voice quiet and choked with his tears.

Bailey soothingly rubbed his back as the shouting from the living room carried on, neither her Mum nor Rich bothering to keep their argument quiet. Bailey pulled away from the hug and gave Nick a small smile, taking his hand to gently squeeze.

"Everything is gonna be alright" Bailey whispered, lifting her hand to wipe Nick's eyes. "I promise"


	23. Chapter 23

Nick sniffs back at Bailey then gives her a small smile with his eyes still full of tears. There's a look of worry on his face as he glances back up to the closed door of the living room, hearing the shouting continue.

Bailey looked over at the door then back to Nick, her hand reaching out to take his and she gave it a little squeeze before offering him a smile.

"How about we go upstairs, yeah? We can put on your favourite DVD and get snuggled up in bed if you like?"

Nick thought about it then nodded his head, letting Bailey keep hold of his hand to walk him upstairs, away from the shouting. Once they had reached Nick's bedroom, Bailey pushed open the door and turned on the light. She walked over to the TV in the corner of the room and turned it on. As Bailey picked out a DVD and put it into the DVD player, Nick climbed onto his bed pulled the duvet over him then moved up to give Bailey enough room.

Bailey turned around once the DVD began to play and she smiled over at Nick, moving closer to the bed to sit beside him. Bailey wrapped her arm around Nick and pulled him in closer to her, smiling down at him as he looked up at her then looked back at the TV screen. The sound of the shouting from downstairs seemed to have calmed down, only the sound of the TV could be heard.

Just as Bailey was focusing on the DVD a loud crash coming from downstairs teared her gaze away. Her heart sped up as she looked over at the door of Nick's bedroom, her eyes wide and her mind beginning to think up what could have happened.

"What was that?" Nick asked, looking back up at Bailey with a scared look in his eyes.

Bailey looked down at Nick and forced a smile onto her lips, not wanting to panic him any further.

"I'm sure it was nothing, how about I go and check and you keep the bed warm for me?"

Nick nodded but looked unsure as Bailey left the bed, moving back to kiss the top of his head. She walked out of the room and quietly closed his bedroom door then walked across the landing to reach the top of the stairs.

As Bailey stands on the top step there's a knock at the front door, causing her to stop walking. She watches as Rich walks out of the living room and over to the front door, a dark look on his face as he pulls open the door.

Bailey continues to watch as Rich speaks to whoever is at the door. Her head turns to look over at the living room, her eyes scanning the mostly dark room from where the door had been left open. Her eyes moved to the floor of the room where the light from the doorway was shining through and she saw a smashed plate on the floor, the plate that was an anniversary present given to her mum and Rich last year.

"I just want to see Bailey!"

"And I told you already she isn't seeing anyone today!"

Bailey turned her gaze from the living room as the sound of her name was mentioned by a familiar voice. She looked back over at the front door and just made out the top of Harry's head. She walked further down the staircase and stopped when Harry looked up over Rich's shoulder and caught her eye.

The conversation they had before replayed in Bailey's head and her heart began to speed up in embarrassment. She looked away from the door and put her head down, blinking away the tears that had formed in her eyes.

"Now I'm going to ask you to leave again and if you're still here in 5 seconds I'll ring the police" Rich warned, folding his arms against his chest as Harry looked back at him.

Harry sighed then nodded his head and turned away to walk back out of the driveway, leaving Rich to slam the door shut and turn around with a smug look on his face.

Bailey quickly walks back upstairs and into Nick's room, smiling before closing the door again behind her. She walks back over to the bed and sits down next to Nick just like before.

"Is everything okay?" Nick asked, looking up at Bailey as she moved her arm back to protectively wrap around his small body, pulling him closer to her again.

"Everything is fine, I promise" Bailey replied, gently squeezing Nick's arm then glancing back up at the TV in front of them. "Have I missed much?"

Nick shook his head then settled down again next to her, wrapping his duvet further around him. Bailey smiled down at him then looked back at the TV with her head full of so many different worries.

Firstly she was worried about her mum, hoping and praying she was alright. Then she thought about Harry and the conversation they had about Rich. Bailey felt her heart sink in her stomach, this was something she didn't what anybody knowing about. Something she felt humiliated about happening and the fact that Harry had seen it happen made things much worse.

Bailey sighed then shifted in her spot, feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket. She frowned then pulled out her phone before opening up the new message she had received from Harry.

I'm worried about you. I hope I haven't ruined things between us. xx

Bailey bit down on her lip and sighed again, pressing the reply button before typing out a message back.

You haven't ruined anything, and you don't need to worry. Everything is fine xx

Bailey placed her phone on her lap and tried to focus her mind on the film that played out on the tv. She wasn't waiting long before another message coming through made her phone vibrate a second time.

You know I don't believe that, not at all. Please let me help you. I'm here whenever you need me, I promise. xx


End file.
